Jurkovec, BC roll Colgate in opener
Boston College quarterback Phil Jurkovec suitably managed the mismatch.
The redshirt junior completed 16-of-24 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions in a 51-0 victory over Colgate before 28,991 in the season opener on Saturday at Alumni Stadium.
Jurkovec was also the Eagles’ leading rusher with 61 yards on five carries. Wide receiver Zay Flowers had seven catches for 135 yards and a touchdown.
“He looked comfortable and he looked confident running the ball,” said BC coach Jeff Hafley. “The expectations were on him and everybody is talking about him and now there is pressure on him.
“The way he handled himself today, I’m proud of him.”
The Eagles dominated from the start, going 75 yards in seven plays and 2:20 of elapsed time to take a 7-0 lead. Tailback Travis Levy capped the march with a three-yard dive behind center Alec Lindstrom.
After consecutive threeand-outs, the Eagles regained their aerial footing on a spectacular connection between Jurkovec and graduate transfer tight end Trae Barry.
On second-and-two from the BC 49, Jurkovec spied Barry on a crossing route and delivered a dart 20 yards downfield.
Barry found a seam down the left sideline, hurdled Colgate right corner Keshaun Dancy at the 10 and scored to give BC a 14-0 lead with 10:40 to play in the half.
“Typically, cornerbacks are smaller guys and they usually go for the legs,” explained Barry.
Jurkovec took advantage of a short field and put BC up 20-0 on a deep ball to Flowers with 7:42 to play in the half. Jurkovec put BC up 26-0 with 1:20 to play on a 10yard toss to Jaden Williams in the right corner of the end zone.
Zay finds a way
Flowers was voted the most dangerous vertical threat in the conference after earning All-ACC firstteam honors last season. Flowers caught 56 passes for 892 yards for a 15.9 average with nine touchdowns in 11 games last season.
Flowers showed the multiple aspects of his game the first four times he touched the ball. The Eagles’ first play from scrimmage was a wide receiver screen from Jurkovec to Flowers that went 33 yards.
On the same drive, Flowers gained 17 on a jet sweep. Flowers picked up 12 on a wheel route that went across the formation early in the second half. Flowers then played to form when he hauled in a 39-yard TD toss from Jurkovec on a skinny post route.
“You can use him in the horizontal pass game and the vertical pass game,” said Hafley. “You can hand him the ball, throw him sweeps, throw him screens and he’s a dynamic player.
“He showed up today and made plays. That’s a great way to start the season for a player that should be one of the better ones in the ACC.”
Living on the edge
The BC defense has several established edge passrushers that includes returning starters Marcus Valdez, Brandon Barlow and Shita Sillah. But the first sack of the season went to tackle Cam Horsley, a 6-2, 290pound sophomore from Riverton, N.J. Horsley dropped Colgate senior quarterback Grant Breneman for a 4-yard loss on the Raiders opening drive.
The Eagles got contributions on all three layers of defense to complete the shutout. BC held the Raiders to 12 first downs, 0-of-10 on third down and 189 yards on total offense. Sillah led the D with seven tackles and a
sack. Free safety Mike Palmer had an interception in the BC end zone and strong safety Jahmin Muse returned an errant Breneman toss 22 yards for a touchdown.
“It means a lot (shutout) because we go into every game and we try to get them
to the ground and eliminate touchdowns,” said Sillah. “Speed is everything and we got a good push up front and that makes it easier for us on the edge. “
Extra points
■ Senior Danny Longman handled both the kickoffs and place-kicking duties, having beaten out incumbent Aaron Boumerhi for the starting job. Longman was five-of-six on PATs and made a 24-yard field to put BC up 30-0 with 4:12 to play in the third. Boumerhi led the team in scoring last season with 78 points by making 16-of-20 field goals and a perfect 30-for-30 on PATs. Longman must have had one heck of a training camp.
■ Hafley said the team drew energy from the crowd, especially the packed student section in the south end zone. The Eagles performed before the first live crowd since 2019 and felt a sense of normalcy during the pregame Eagle Walk.
“I want to thank the students and the fans,” said Hafley. “We came out of the mass today and people were out there tailgating and the students were out on the mods and when we got into the stadium they were there.”
■ BC legendary hockey coach Jerry York and his wife Bobbie watched the game from the press box.